PGA Tour Targeting Bigger Markets As Schedule Evolves for 2028, per Report

According to the Sports Business Journal, Brian Rolapp revealed a proposed plan to players at the Truist Championship two weeks ago that would include two tiers of tournaments.

Philadelphia Cricket Club held the Truist Championship last year while regular host Quail Hollow had a major; the PGA Tour is reportedly considering Philadelphia as a new tournament city. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The widely anticipated changes to the PGA Tour schedule now reportedly have a blueprint. 

According to the Sports Business Journal, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp revealed a proposed plan to players at the Truist Championship two weeks ago that would include two tiers of tournaments. 

The first track would be 23 elevated events, with 16 regular-season tournaments, three FedEx Cup Playoff events and the four major championships. Currently, regular-season signature events have fields of 70 to 80 players and only three of the nine have a 36-hole cut. However, that is expected to change under Rolapp’s vision, increasing to 120-man fields. 

This is similar to what Rolapp disclosed in a press conference at the Players Championship in March. 

“Today, we have eight signature events,” Rolapp said. “We are effectively looking to at least double that number. Add the four majors, the Players Championship, our post-season, and the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, and you get to the 21- to 26-event range. To be clear, we will have a second track of PGA Tour tournaments, which will ladder up to those elevated events.”

SBJ reports that the second-level tournaments would include 140-man fields.

Another change could be where events are contested. Rolapp has said he wants to bring the Tour to big markets. Apparently, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, Nashville and San Francisco are being considered.

And for the new signature tournaments, the circuit eyes nearly $30M annually from potential title sponsors. 

At the moment, 13 events, including majors, are confirmed on the schedule through May. The Florida swing, however, has not been finalized. Typically, the circuit plays four consecutive Florida events in March. 

More player meetings regarding the future schedule are planned at this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas.